"Yes." I grabbed the bottle of top-shelf Glendaver Bourbon by its neck and yanked out its pouring spigot.
"Does Lobo know you're here?" I asked, tossing the pouring spigot back on the counter.
"No." Carly looked to both sides nervously. "Please don't tell him, and please don't tell Sunny about him and m?—"
She suddenly cut off and pasted a smile on her face. "Sunny,hiii!"
My heart stopped when Sunny appeared beside me, smiling in her usual—well, sunny—way at Carly.
But she looked all wrong.
Instead of the Benton Girls' signature neon red, coral pink, or some other bright color, she wore a sleek gray sundress with her hair pulled up in a high bun. She looked like my matching counterpart—an Ice Queen who'd somehow shown up at this party in the desert.
And the smile fell from her face when she turned to me. "Cole."
She never just said my name in greeting. That was a me thing.
"Sunny," I answered, nonetheless, matching her cool tones.
"She'll take a chardonnay," I said at the same time Sunny said, "May I have a chardonnay?"
"Sure," Carly answered, her gaze shifting uncertainly between the two of us. "You don't want to try the engagement drink?"
"No," we both answered with matching conviction. But for different reasons.
Then we awkwardly stood there while Carly poured.
Well, I stood there awkwardly.
A cater waiter swooped in with another, "Sunny,hiii!"
"Hey, Stella!" The smiled immediately returned to Sunny's face as the cater waiter extended the tray she was carrying so they could exchange a warm, one-sided hug.
"Thanks so much for getting Carly and me this gig after how things ended at the Tourmaline." Stella offered Sunnya selection from a tray with a card that readLobster and Avocado Tartlets. "I was talking to the manager, and he said they do all the Summerlin parties and also the ones in Centennial Hills and Tournament Hills and Country Club Hills—basically, all the Hills where rich people live. This flexible gig work is going to be a lifesaver for Carly and me. Thank you so much."
Why would the woman Lobo called his "special pet" need money? Or be bartending at one of my grandmother's parties?I squinted at Carly. Who kept her eyes doggedly trained on Sunny as she handed her the glass of chardonnay. "Yeah, thanks, Sunny. We really appreciate it."
"No problem!" Sunny insisted. She took the drink and started to extend a couple of bills toward the slot of a plastic tip box.
But Carly slapped a hand over the slot while Stella said, "C'mon, girl, don't even try it. Your money's no good here."
Sunny laughed. "Are you two at least coming over to Tony's place next weekend so we can plan the quote-unquotesurprisebachelorduetto party he and Cherenity are demanding?"
Was that where she'd been staying? With her fake ex and his real drag queen partner?
We were done. I knew that. But jealousy insisted on doing another pitiful lap around my chest.
"I mean, I'll definitely be there," Stella assured her."But is bachelorduetto, like,new slang? Did they make it up?"
"I think they did, but I'm afraid to ask!"Sunny admitted with a laugh before turning back to Lobo's pet. "How about you, Carly?"
"I can't make it. Sorry," Carly answered with a hasty glance toward me.
"Do you have work?" Sunny asked. "Maybe we can change it."
"Something like that," Carly answered. "I'm so busy these days. I just can't. But I'll go along with whatever you all decide."
Sunny opened her mouth, but before she could make Carly another offer, the younger woman said, "Um, I thought I heard Nora Benton say earlier that she wanted you two to stand under that balloon arch over there. Something about photo opportunities?"
